


Uting

by QuistanC



Category: Hetalia: Axis Powers
Genre: A lot of family fluff, Angst, Angst and Hurt/Comfort, Eventual Romance, Family Shenanigans, Gen, Hurt/Comfort, M/M, Magic Trio (Hetalia), More characters to come in the following chapters, Mostly plot focus, Rating may go up, Slow Burn, but will only tag those who will play a role, moral conflict
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2020-08-05
Updated: 2020-08-11
Packaged: 2021-03-06 02:54:39
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 2
Words: 5,681
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/25736125
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/QuistanC/pseuds/QuistanC
Summary: Uting - Norwegian, nounFigurative translation:A bad habit or traditionIt had always felt as if something was missing in Norway's memory. He might have attributed it to his age, but as the world was beginning to shift around him, he gained more and more clarity. His magic - and those of many others - was returning. So were creatures long since forgotten by humankind. However, the world was suffering from from it. What will happen once the humans realize that something so ancient and powerful has been reawakened again? How will the nations deal with it?
Relationships: Denmark & Norway (Hetalia), Denmark/Norway (Hetalia), Eventual Denmark/Norway, Finland & Norway (Hetalia), Iceland & Norway (Hetalia), Norway & Sweden (Hetalia)
Comments: 1
Kudos: 12





	1. The Voice

**Author's Note:**

> If you find that during the course of this fanfic, you are frequently reminded of the plot of Frozen with more twists, then you are completely right. This plot idea was inspired by the song "Into the Unknown" from Frozen 2 as I was geeking out with my Sweden (If you are reading this, I love you, buddy!) about something or another.
> 
> A note: Any conversations written in italics is supposed to be in another language, but written in English to make it easier to read. 
> 
> Also, the human names I'm going to use for the Nordics - I will add the names of other unnamed nations as they appear in each chapter:
> 
> Norway - Lukas Bondevik  
> Denmark - Matthias Densen  
> Iceland - Emil Steilsson

_His lungs burned as his feet pounded against the ground. The ice-cold air nipped at his flushed cheeks. It was getting difficult to breathe as he was chased by something… someone. There were noises around him; sounds of other feet pounding against the frozen ground. Leaves and twigs breaking and snapping beneath the hurried steps of other people. Were they friends or foes? He had no idea. All he knew was the panic coursing through his chest. If he were caught, death would be certain – regardless of his status as a Kingdom. It was getting difficult to breathe. His vision was getting blurry as cold tendrils tugged at his limbs, slowing him down. There were more noises up ahead. Voices were screaming something – his name?  
“Norge!” It was his name, but what did it mean? Who was calling his name? Why were they calling his name? He no longer understood. The tendrils were crawling up his legs, enveloping his torso and pulling him under. Two pair of terrified blue eyes were the only thing he saw before he was pulled into nothingness. However… There was more than nothing._

_A whisper caressed his cheek, calling for him. He blinked slowly but remained unseeing. He closed his eyes and focused on his other senses instead. There was only coldness around him, quickly numbing his sense of touch. The smell was odd. It smelt like fresh snow but at the same time like ice. There was nothing unpleasant about it but it wasn’t entirely pleasant either. It tugged at his heartstrings in the same way a warm hug from either Sweden or Denmark would. It made him feel safe and in his element.  
The whispering increased and he swore he could begin to make out what it was saying. He knew what the words meant but it felt as if the memory of them was pushed to the back of his head, stored away after centuries of not using it. His eyebrows furrowed and he called out to the whisper. “Who are you?” An airy laughter rang in his brain and he startled, the hair at the back of his neck standing up. He hadn’t expected this presence to be so close. He sucked in air sharply but that proved to be a mistake. His lungs were burning again and for a moment, he was fruitlessly trashing against the sudden pain. A cold pressure laid on his shoulder, immediately ceasing his every movement._

_“You are not safe.” The voice uttered before the pressure from his shoulder vanished. However, the cold remained, reminding him that he was not out of whatever bubble he had been sucked into. “Danger is approaching.” He grunted in reply to the obvious statement. He was being held hostage by a spirit of sorts._

_A spirit? But hadn’t they vanished centuries ago. Suddenly, the coldness seemed more than familiar. He knew this presence. He had met it many times ago and yet, their name would not come to his lips for it was buried beneath layers of memories. His lips parted a few times, attempting to say the presence’s name. As he still failed after many attempts, he gritted his teeth in agitation. Suddenly, the presence seemed enraged. “You have forgotten us? Abandoned us? Forsaken us? How could you!” With each word, the spirit’s voice rose in volume and it took every ounce of his self-control not to cover his ears in agony. Just as the last echoes of the spirit’s voice faded away, his ears were assaulted once again._

_“Run!”_

With a jolt, Norway woke up. He was gasping for air, his entire body convulsing to get air into his lungs. It took him a few moments to realize just why his body felt as if it was unable to get any air into itself. A heavy arm was laying across his stomach. When a soft snore rang in his ear, his entire being relaxed. He released a deep breath and relaxed back into the pillows for a moment, letting the now comfortable arm ground him. It had just been a dream. His hand was still shaking as he reached up to wipe at his forehead. It felt clammy. Was it because of his hands or his forehead? He wasn’t sure. The body attached to the arm that was now curled tightly around him grumbled at his movement, a head full of soft hair attempting to fuse with his shoulder. Norway didn’t even attempt to suppress the affectionate smile that curled his lips upwards. His free arm reached across himself to gently pat the soft hair. Another snore told him that the person next to him settled down again.

However, Norway was not granted the same blessing. As the minutes ticked by, he began to feel more and more restless. His limbs were twitching with restless energy. Eventually, he gave in and pushed himself out of the bed, carefully detangling his brother’s limbs from his own. Iceland made a disgruntled noise and immediately reached forward to hold onto Norway’s pillow instead for warmth. It seriously made him wonder, just why was Iceland fighting to call him big brother again so much? Now that he was up and standing, he almost regretted getting up as the cold began to nip at his limbs. A shiver ran up his spine and walked downstairs and into the kitchen.

His eyes squinted at the light that was coming from the kitchen and he frowned. His dream still had him at high alert as he peeked around the corner and was met with familiar blue eyes and blond hair. A bushy eyebrow rose at his cautious actions and thin lips twitched into a smirk. However, no words left those lips. Norway, disgruntled at having been spotted immediately, wandered into the kitchen. To his surprise, a freshly brewed pot of coffee was standing on the counter. His eyes wandered to the clock – 3:23 AM, it read – before returning to the kitchen’s other occupant with raised eyebrows. Denmark merely shrugged and nudged an empty cup towards him. Leave it to the obnoxious Dane to suffer an episode of insomnia when Norway was torn from sleep by his odd dream.

Regardless of his earlier suspicions at the other’s timing, he was grateful for the warm cup of coffee now clasped between his hands and the company. Even if that company was unusually quiet today. “What’s on your mind? It’s not like you to be so quiet.” Norway would lie if he said that he was concerned about what kept the Dane awake at the moment. He had his own issues – particularly that damned dream – to work through. To his surprise, he merely received a shrug and a low hum in response. His eyes snapped to the Dane and annoyance tugged at him again. He wanted to say more, but Denmark luckily beat him to it. Leave it to the other man to deliver at last.

“I simply couldn’t sleep. Something felt off. ‘s hard to describe. Ya know I’m no good with words. What about you? What are you doing awake?” Denmark’s grin seemed like a sudden change from his earlier demeanor, but it was familiar and eased his mind a little. He still blinked slowly. Truthfully, he had expected something else as a reply, but the more he thought about it, the more it made sense for Denmark to give him this kind of reply. Norway’s gaze wandered over the other Nordic and he took in his appearance, purposefully ignoring the question directed at him. There was something off about him. His eyes lacked the usual shine to them, though Norway was willing to blame this at the lack of sleep and time. His hair was mussed up more than usual, as if he had been running his hands through his hair frequently. It made him wonder for just how long Denmark had already been awake. Had he even gone to sleep? His gaze subtly flitted down to look at the other’s attire. A simply black T-shirt that could have belonged to Sweden, considering the way it hung loose on Denmark’s frame and simply boxer-shorts. So he had gone to bed and was now awake again. 

Eventually, as those blue eyes continued to bore into him, he relented and answered Denmark’s question. But he hesitated for a moment as his lips parted. His eyebrows furrowed and he glanced again at Denmark. It was late and if questioned, he could always blame it on the time… So maybe it wouldn’t hurt to ask the other about his dream. “Danmark.” He could sense the other frown at the sudden switch in language. But something prompted him to switch. It felt more appropriate. _”When we were children.. Vikings… Do you…”_ He trailed off as Denmark’s gaze suddenly felt heavier than before. His skin felt as if it was burning and he locked their gazes. The seconds ticked by as his coffee cooled in his hands. Normally, Denmark would be chatting his ear off by now, prompting him to continue. But he wasn’t saying anything, instead continued to gaze at him quietly with an unreadable expression on his face. His eyebrow twitched as he began to feel uneasy. He glanced away and took a long sip of his coffee. _”Do you ever recall a spirit staying with us? Protecting us?”_ There was sudden tension in the air and Norway couldn’t quite make out just what caused it. He chanced another glance at Denmark and was shocked at the flash of anger in those usual kind and calm blue eyes. “Hva…?” He uttered but was caught off guard by a sudden outburst of laughter and he stared in shock at the Dane, wondering whether he had finally lost his mind completely.

“You’re asking weird stuff, Nor. Maybe you should consider going back to bed. We have a meeting tomorrow and I’m sure Sve will be angry with us if we fell asleep during it – let alone Germany.” Norway blinked in confusion again. Just what exactly had happened right now? However, before he could comprehend what was happening, the half empty cup of coffee was taken out of his hands and a large, warm hand was pushing him out of the kitchen and towards the stairs again. “We should try to at least get some sleep. Let’s go back to bed.”

Still not yet comprehending what was happening, he allowed Denmark to usher him back to his room before he heard a quiet “God natt” and the clicking of the room of the Dane. Norway stood and stared into the darkness of his room. His younger brother’s quiet snoring was the only reminder that he was not caught in that bubble of darkness with that spirit again.

Sighing softly, he moved to the window and pushed it open, staring out into the forest behind Sweden’s house. If he closed his eyes, he could feel the pull again, tempting him to follow it.

His breath billowed into clouds. It was a different cold than the one from his dream. It was fresh and unfamiliar. But how on earth was any kind of cold unfamiliar to him? He was Norway. He was used to cold winters and snowy mountains. It made no sense to him. Then again, nothing made sense at the moment. It was one of those moments one would experience past 3 AM when nothing made sense and yet, one could see everything in full clarity. Just before he closed the window to lay back down again, a soft whisper reached him. He hesitated, sharpening his ears to try to pick it up again.

There it was again. A soft voice singing a long-forgotten melody. His eyes widened and he slammed the window shut with more force than he had meant to use. With shaky limbs, he stepped back from the window, his gaze still fixated on the dark trees outside.

“Lukas?” His younger brother’s voice startled him, and he turned his head to gaze at him. Sleepy eyes, so similar to his own, stared at him as his beautiful platinum blond hair stood up at odd angles. In the back of his mind, he noted that Denmark had definitely left his traces in Iceland’s blood, too. “What are you doing up?” Emil’s voice muttered, his voice scratchy. Norway breathed out slowly and merely walked back to bed and slipped beneath the blanket. “It’s okay, I merely couldn’t sleep. I didn’t mean to wake you, sorry.” Emil merely mumbled something unintelligibly and nuzzled back down into the pillows, his breathing quickly evening out.

Norway wished he could follow his brother into blissful sleep, but he remained awake for another hour, staring into the darkness. Something was going on and he had no idea what.


	2. Just a voice

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The signs of something returning were piling up and Norway isn't sure what to make of it.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> The second chapter is finally done. I wrote a lot more than expected. From now on, the story will gradually pick up in pace. So if you've made it through the first two chapters, congratulations and thanks for sticking around :')  
> Excuse the OOC-ness for now. Norway is grumpy from not sleeping.  
> Once again, everything written in italics is spoken in a different language.

There was a distinctive pounding in his head as he woke up that told him that he had not gotten much sleep. He grumbled softly and turned onto his other side, frowning when his brother’s side of the bed was already made up. Sighing, Norway pushed himself into a sitting position and stared at the alarm clock to see what time it is. His eyebrows furrowed up at the sight of the dead alarm clock. He could have sworn that it had been plugged in the night before. Instead, he reached for his phone and his heart leaped into his throat at the time.

Cursing internally, he swung his legs over the side of the bed to get dressed. His feet were pounding against the carpet as he bolted downstairs, glaring at the other nations cleaning up their plates from breakfast. Finland glanced up at the newcomer and blinked slowly at Norway’s disheveled appearance. “Good morning. Did you forget to set an alarm?”

“The alarm clock didn’t have any power. Was there a power outage tonight?” Sweden stared at him with an odd expression before nodding towards the table where Denmark was still nursing a cup of coffee and Iceland shoving the last slices of his bread into his mouth. “Left some for you.” He uttered before finishing the task of washing the plates. With a grateful nod towards the other quiet nation, Norway took his place at the table to force a few slices of bread down his throat. He still felt disgruntled at not having been woken up by his brother when it was obvious that he would oversleep. His eyes narrowed at his brother’s face as he slowly chewed on his breakfast. The little twitch of Iceland gave it away that he was aware that Norway was staring at him but made no move to return his stare.

Iceland was saved from Norway’s silent wrath as a cup full of steaming coffee was placed in front of him. He blinked over at a grinning Denmark and nodded his thanks. “Did you manage to get at least some sleep last night, Nor?” His eyebrow twitched slightly at the happy voice right next to his ear and he slowly turned his gaze back towards his coffee, refusing to reply. He merely grabbed the cup and sighed contently as the heavenly liquid slid down his throat. However, Denmark wasn’t deterred by his lack of answer and instead nudged him again to gain his attention again. The other Nordics seemed to sense the shift in Norway’s mood and Finland loudly declared that they should get to the meeting building or else they would all be reprimanded by Germany.  
Huffing, Norway downed the rest of his coffee quickly, just barely wincing at the temperature before following his fellow Nordics out the door and towards the meeting building.

The meeting was boring, to say the least. It always followed the same pattern. Germany would start the meeting calmly and collected but it would soon derail by whoever started the argument this time. His eyes were burning, and his head was still causing him trouble. Getting less than three hours of sleep was not ideal at all. With tired eyes, he looked around the conference room, barely managing to stifle his yawn. Out of the corner of his eyes, he noticed that England was also slumped over in his seat, happily dozing away. Norway frowned and envied the man for being able to slumber away with this ruckus going on.

“And that’s why we should ignore those regulations and carry on as usual!” He apparently zoned in again at the end of the current argument and glanced over at Finland who was still smiling kindly but his grip on the table gave his mood away. Stifling another yawn, he leaned over to his friend and whispered to him in a low voice. “Are they done?” Finland merely muttered something unintelligible in reply and nodded back towards the head of the table where Germany looked ready to jump over the table and strangle America. Ah… So it wasn’t over yet. Sighing softly, he leaned back into his seat and forced himself to stay awake. He allowed his gaze once again to sweep over the other attendants and frowned when he noticed that the seat next to – what was his name again? Bulgaria? – was empty. He scanned the room again and indeed. Romania was missing. While it wasn’t too odd that some nations either left or stayed away altogether from these meetings because of the lack of productivity, it struck him as odd for Romania to be missing. After joining the EU a few years ago, the other nation had been doing his best to improve his economical situation to no longer be the laughingstock of Europe. Therefore, it didn’t seem in character for him to be missing. A voice at the back of his mind told him that something wasn’t quite right.

Another yell told him that the argument had resumed, and Norway merely settled back into his seat, at last giving in to the urge to catch a few more minutes of sleep.

_He was in a dark cave. The only source of light came from deeper inside the cave. There were voices in the heart of the cave, talking in a language long forgotten. His heart raced as he tentatively stepped further into the cave, curious as to who was talking. He peered around the corner and saw three figures standing there. They were oh so familiar, but their names just remained out of reach. It wasn’t odd for someone his age to forget things. He was about to call out to the people standing there, but before a word could leave his lips, they simultaneously snapped their heads towards him. His entire body froze at their eyes. They were each glowing in different colors and something told him that they were not pleased at seeing him._

_“Step away from the light. Step away. Step away.” He startled at realizing that one of the figures was speaking in Norse. He attempted to ask her if she was one of their long passed away people – a Viking – when a cold hand gripped him from behind and yanked him backwards. The last thing he saw was the figures turning to move towards the light._

A scream of fright jerked him from his dream. His head shot up and he looked around, frowning when he couldn’t see anything. His heart began to pound again, and his hand immediately moved towards his hairpin, but a hand gripped his wrist. Out of reflex, his other hand shot out to punch whoever held his hand captive. A familiar groan rang from his captor and his heartrate was beginning to return to normal. “What the fuck, Norway?” Denmark’s voice sounded nasal. It seems that he had hit his nose. Good, serves him right for suddenly touching him when he had just woken up and wasn’t fully aware of his surroundings yet. However, despite Denmark obviously nursing his bruised nose, he had yet to release Norway’s wrist. He tugged at it roughly. He was tempted to punch the Dane again to drive his point home that he shouldn’t touch him, but his plan was foiled by a flashlight shining directly into his face. He shielded his eyes with his free hand and glared at Finland who smiled apologetically. “What’s going on?”

“There was a sudden power outage. Sweden and Germany already are going to get it fixed.” That explained the darkness. When had it gotten so dark anyway? He glanced out the window and he frowned at the dark clouds that hung outside. The weather forecast hadn’t said anything about a storm. His musing was interrupted by Denmark once again complaining about his hurting nose. “Fuck, you really didn’t have to punch me, Norge.” A huff left him, and he was about to retort when he realized something. “Wait, who had screamed?”

“Huh?”

“There was someone screaming.” He elaborated and finally yanked his hand free, gently rubbing at his wrist. This idiot really ought to control his strength. Why on earth was he still so strong anyway?

“Ah. That must have been Italy.” Norway hummed lowly and reached for his own phone to turn on his flashlight. However, as soon as he unlocked his phone, it flickered for a few seconds before going out. His lower eyelid twitched in annoyance and he pocketed it again, instead leaning back in his seat to wait for the light to turn on again. He really wanted to go back to Sweden’s house and take a proper nap. He was unnecessarily cranky today. At least the small nap on the table had gotten rid of his headache from earlier. 

It felt like hours, but were most likely only a few minutes, until the lights flickered back to life. His eyes needed a few moments to adjust to the sudden brightness again, but he slowly looked around, scanning the room again. A few of the nations looked rather disappointed that the light was back on again which meant that the meeting would resume as soon as Sweden and Germany returned. However, a few looked odd – tense, he would say. Their postures were rigged, and a few had a pained expression on their faces. His gaze at last landed on Denmark who was still clutching his nose. He frowned and tilted his head slightly. He hadn’t punched him that hard, had he? He flexed his fingers a little, testing if his knuckles hurt. They didn’t hurt. However, they felt moist. He glanced down at his hand and realized that they were droplets of blood on them. His eyes widened and he immediately pulled an unused tissue from of one his pockets and shoved the Dane’s hand aside to stop the flow of blood. “ _Shit_. I didn’t realize that I punched you that hard, Denmark.”

Denmark merely pouted at him, his eyes glistening like that of a kicked puppy. Guilt made his stomach feel like lead as he pressed the tissue to the other’s nose. “Tilt your head back.” He ordered, using his unoccupied hand to forcefully tug the Dane’s head backwards. A loud groan told him that Germany and Sweden had returned.

“Denmark, Norway, what happened?” Germany’s voice rung throughout the conference room, drawing everyone’s attention to them. He tilted his head towards the younger nation and merely frowned. Denmark attempted to speak, but Norway pinched his nose before he could say anything, only eliciting a yelp of pain from him. For a few moments, Germany held a staring contest with Norway. Although when it became obvious that staring the other nation down would yield no results, he merely shook his head and sighed. “Right…” He relented and moved back towards his seat, blocking any attempts of Italy moving to cling to him. “Go get cleaned up then. We will continue the meeting in the meantime. Make sure to get the missing notes from others.”   
There was no hesitation from either of them as they immediately stood and left the conference room. A sigh of relief escaped Norway as the air in the hallway seemed less thick and stuffy than in the conference room. Denmark gave an odd sounding chuckle. “You know, if you just wanted us to get out of there, you could have told me. Then I could have prepared for the hit.”

Norway shot him a glare and merely tugged him towards the bathroom. “If you hadn’t grabbed me, I wouldn’t have punched you.” He shot back, already growing irritated with the other nation. It was infuriating. In one moment, Norway could almost enjoy the Dane’s company as they relaxed in each other’s presence. In the next moment, Denmark would make some dumb comment that would immediately spark annoyance in him. Why did the other always feel the need to make some dumb comment? “You looked out of it. I wanted to make sure that you didn’t hurt yourself.”

Hurt himself? What kind of nonsense was that? “Annoying…” He muttered and tugged Denmark into the bathroom, forcing him to the sink to see that he cleaned up properly. Despite his earlier words, guilt tugged at him for making Denmark bleed in the first place. Although, he couldn’t recall hitting him that hard. If anything, it was just him swinging forward due to being startled. His eyebrows furrowed as he stared at the white sink slowly being stained pink. It reawakened memories inside of him that he didn’t enjoy. Evenings spent taking care of his friends’ wounds, watching as their blood stained his hands and the bandages red. Why he was suddenly plagued by those memories was a mystery to him. Perhaps the lack of sleep and those odd dreams lately had something to do with it. He scrunched up his nose slightly in disdain. They were fine now, though. They were no longer war. They no longer had to watch their people die over and over again. They no longer had control over---

Over what, exactly?

“It’s okay, Nor. I’m not angry.” His head snapped up, coming face to face with the gentle expression of Denmark. There was sincerity in the other’s eyes and it made his stomach churn. His face was still twisted into a grimace full of guilt as he reached forward, gently tapping the Dane’s nose, trying to decipher if he had broken his nose or merely bruised it. Denmark hissed and grabbed his hands, keeping them pressed to his swollen nose. Norway raised his eyebrows at him.

“Your hands are freezing, it feels good.” He merely rolled his eyes in annoyance but allowed Denmark to keep his hands hostage for the time being. It was only fair, given that it had been his fault that his nose was bruised. “We should probably head back before they come looking for us.” Denmark only whined in reply to his words, tightening his grip on Norway’s hands. He sighed heavily and at last tugged his hands free, forcefully turning the taller man towards the doorway and pushing him forward. 

As they returned to the conference room, everyone’s attention was on them for a few seconds before Germany loudly cleared his throat and continued to talk. It seems that the other nation finally took over the meeting. At least now, they would be able to finally get something done.

After the meeting had finally ended, Denmark had suggested that they grab a few drinks together. It was rare that the five of them managed to spend time together these days. A few seemed to agree reluctantly, but Finland seemed rather enthusiastic. Truthfully, Norway wasn’t opposed to spending more time with his family either. As much as he enjoyed peace and quiet, there were times where he sincerely missed the ruckus a house full of people could cause – not that he would ever willingly admit to it.   
The bar Denmark had chosen was serving decent alcohol. It almost felt nostalgic to drink some warm mead again. At least it was of good quality and slid down one’s throat smoothly. Their table was loud. The more Denmark and Finland drank, the louder they began to sing along to the music playing in the bar. At one point, even Iceland joined in and Norway had to cover his lips before he ended up laughing out loud and making his brother stop. He seemed to have fun and loosened up – even if it was mostly thanks to the alcohol. He was happily swaying along side Denmark, slightly leaning on the older nation. As Iceland’s voice rose in volume and his words began to slur, Denmark guffawed and ruffled the other’s hair.

Norway silently watched the scene, his amusement thinly veiled. “They are lively.” He glanced over at Sweden who was watching the same scene as him, but his amusement not concealed at all – if you knew what you were looking for. His gaze was warm, and the corner of his lips slightly tugged up. The corner of his eyes crinkled slightly and Norway snorted. “More like the reason we are probably going to get kicked out.” Sweden breathed out, his version of a laugh.

“Yes, possibly. Want another glass?” Norway shook his head no. Sweden shrugged and stood up to get himself another glass of whatever he was drinking. His fingers itched slightly and he grabbed Denmark’s coat, pulling the other man close for a moment, rummaging through his pockets. Denmark stared at him with a dopey grin, the alcohol in his system causing him to let his head drop forward and onto Norway’s shoulder for a moment, chuckling deep in his throat. “What are ya doin’, Nor?”

“Shut up.” He pushed the drunk man off his shoulder and let out a small sound of victory when he found his prize. He waved the package of cigarettes in front of the other’s face. Denmark merely nodded at him, giving his silent permission to Norway for him to borrow a few cigarettes.

The chair scraped loudly against the ground as he pushed himself into a standing position. “I’m going for a smoke.” He said to the questioning gazes. Iceland frowned at him. “I thought you quit.” Norway merely shrugged with one shoulder before going outside. He released a sigh of relief as the quiet air cooled down his overheated cheeks. It took him a few tries, but eventually nicotine was filling his lungs. Iceland had a point – he had quit. However, the dream of last night hadn’t been the first one. It often forced him awake in the middle of the night and prevented him from falling back asleep. Right now, he just felt like he needed something to calm his nerves.

Norway leaned against the side of the building, slowly letting the smoke curl in his lungs before releasing it into the night air. 

“Got a lighter?” He glanced to the side and England was holding up an unlit cigarette, raising an eyebrow at him. Their gazes locked for a moment, daring the other to say something before Norway took out the borrowed lighter to lit England’s cigarette. The Brit nodded his thanks and moved to stand next to him, staring up into the sky. They remained quiet for some time. Despite the loud noises coming from inside the bar and the few chatting people standing outside of the bar to smoke, it felt peaceful. As his cigarette neared its end, he tapped his index finger against the package inside of his coat, tempted to steal another one but eventually deciding against it. He lifted his foot to put out his cigarette before throwing away the bud of it into the trash bin that was standing outside for this exact purpose. Just as he was about to round the corner to enter the bar again, England spoke up.

“The gin you are serving is shit, by the way.” The Brit’s voice was slurred, slow. It was obvious that he was tired and pretty tipsy – if not drunk. Norway turned back towards him. England was grinning in a lopsided manner at him, challenging him. He merely stared in return and remained quiet. When it became clear that England would receive no reply from the quiet nation, he huffed and waved at him, as if telling him to go. His eyebrow twitched slightly, and he moved to leave when screams from the entrance startled both of them. They shared a look and ran towards the door, watching as a few patrons were plucking feathers from their person, staring in disbelief at each other and their bodies. “What’s going on?” England uttered from his right. Norway shrugged and stepped closer, straining his ears and memory to understand the slurred Swedish.

“ _I told you! They just swooped down and attacked us for no reason. What on earth does the city feed these pigeons? Testosterone? Damnit._ ” Pigeons? Attacking humans? Norway wasn’t sure whether he should laugh or not. However, before he could decide, something caught his eye.

A golden cockerel sat atop a large tree further down the street. Its golden eyes were staring intently at him. His blood froze in his veins as his stomach churned painfully. He must have looked on the verge of panic because England touched his shoulder, shaking him gently. “What’s the matter?”

Without taking his eyes off the cockerel who was moving, shifting as if he was ready to---

An ear-piercing scream rang through the air and Norway flinched, covering his ears. The echo of the scream rang throughout the night. His ears felt as if they were bleeding from the sound. England stared at him wide-eyed. “What on bloody earth was that?” He hissed. Norway glanced back to the tree but saw nothing atop there. It was gone. The cockerel was gone. His gaze moved to the patrons who looked as unbothered as they did before the scream. Hadn’t they heard it? His lips pressed together into a thin line and he turned to England.

“You saw that bird, too, right?” England merely nodded slowly, as if it had been the most obvious thing. Norway breathed out slowly and shook his head. “Well, then maybe the gin isn’t as terrible as you first thought.”


End file.
